Farming of yurtlianiptonslLire. 



Ill 



Ileport oj John Beasley, Esq., JDecember, 1848. — " It is well known that, 

 of the variety of grasses which enrich our best pastures, not one-third will 

 grow or flourish upon land that is constantly ^^■et, but they will spring up 

 spontaneously upon the soils upon which they had never been seen before so 

 soon as it is made coni})aratively dry by drainage. On the other hand, the 

 inferior grasses, which flourish on wet soils, will disa[)pear and give ]>lace to 

 the suj)ei-ior ones when the land is proj^erly drained, in accordance with that 

 beautiful order of Nature which invariably rewards the well-directed labour of 



man The loss sustained by the rot in sheep, for the want of better 



drainage, though ])artial, is serious when it occurs. Upon dry soils sheep may 

 generally be grazed with impunity ; but upon clay and alluvial soils, in this 

 district they generally imbibe this iatal disease if dej)asturcd upon them in a 

 wet season. There are many acres of grass land but little above the present 

 level of the river, unsuired for pasture, which would be greatly improved,' and 

 far more profitable, if brought into tillage ; but it would be unwise to attempt 

 this, with the chance of the floods and the certainty that they cannot be 

 drained. It is known to all practical men that the success of irrigations depends 

 on the water being speedily brought on and rapidly carried off, and the land 

 thoroughly drained, either by natural or artificial means, so that, in the present 

 state of the river, all the advantages of irrigation are lost to nearly the whole of 

 this district, while the water which remains beyond what the soil can acbsorb acts 

 most injuriously, by maintaining a cold and low temperature, not only upon the 

 surface, but to a considerable depth, neutralizing the power of the sun, decay- 

 ing the tender plant, and altogether retarding the process of vegetation." 



Report hij J. M. jRendell, Esq., F.E.S., September, 1840. — I accordingly 

 commenced my examination of the two branches of the Xene some miles above 

 Northampton, and consider that the drainage- works should begin on its northern 

 fork at about one mile above Chapel Brampton, and on its western fork at 

 Kislingbury. From these places to — say Woodstone Staunch, near Peter- 

 borough, I consider the only practicable plan of effecting an efficient drainage, 

 having reference to the various interests and the cost, will be — to remove 

 some of the mills — to lower the head-ponds and tail-streams of others — to 

 make proper over-falls and back-drains along the head-ponds of all the mills 

 where the water is impounded above the proper level for the drainage of the 

 adjoining land — to construct sufficient waste-weirs to take the flood-waters — to 

 enlarge and straighten all the overflow or back brooks — to cut off some of the 

 worst bends in the present river-course — to deepen the shallows — to remove 

 most of the staunches on the navigation — to alter some of the locks — to deepen 

 some of the ponds between the same — and, finally, to properly adjust all the 

 bridges, including those of the railway and flood- water courses, to the quantity 

 of water due to every part of the valley. 



" By a carefully-devised plan of this nature, I consider only a limited 

 number of mills will have to be removed to insure to all the low lands of the 

 valley a clear drainage of from two to four feet, or in other words, to place the 

 surface of the meadows at that height above the ordinary level of the water in 

 the main drains. Such a scheme would obviously free the valley from all 

 ordinary or summer floods." 



Considerable injury is also done to the part of the county 

 adjoining the river Well and by the bad state of the drainage, and 

 the obstructions caused by the flour-mills on the stream. From 

 the vicinity of Market Harborough to Market Deepmg, a distance 

 of more than 30 miles, the meadows are repeatedly overflowed 

 and much injured. During high floods the water above Uffing- 

 ton overflows and runs over the meadows and lowlands of Bain- 

 ton, Helpstone, Maxey, and Elton, uniting again with the river 

 at AValdram Hall, near Crowland. 



